Spied: Production Lexus RC F GT

Jul 24, 2018, 10:45am ETby Byron Hurd

The new, lightweight track machine is being tested on public roads.

Lexus has been talking a big game when it comes to GT cars, but Tuesday our spies provided us with some concrete proof of the company's plans for dedicated track variants of its performance cars with these photos of the much-ballyhooed RC F GT being tested on public roads in Germany.

That's because they're both born of the same philosophy. Like the 911 GT3 RS, the RC F GT is a bridge between the road-going, 467-horsepower Lexus RC F and the Lexus RC F GT3 race car that competes in worldwide endurance racing.

This is a stripped-down, no-frills, performance-first driving machine. It gets a street-certifiable powertrain shared with the "pedestrian" RC F, so the 5.0L V8 remains, as does the eight-speed automatic transmission.

What it doesn't have in common, however, is the RC F's curb weight. When the concept debuted way back in 2015, Lexus said it would weigh 800 pounds less than the road car. That would put the RC F GT's final weight around 3,100 pounds.

It remains to be seen how close the final car will come to the concept's figure, but with extensive use of lightweight body components along with interior de-contenting, it's clear that Lexus is taking weight reduction seriously. Stay tuned.